Could This New All-Female Car Service Be the Answer to Uber's Sexual Assault Problem?

We've all heard stories about creepy Uber drivers. And while it's typically convenient, fast, and reliable, Uber has been linked to some scary reports of sexual assault, causing some women to doubt whether it's really a safe alternative to the subway.

Last month, an investigative report issued by BuzzFeed found that Uber’s customer support system received 6,160 complaints containing the words "sexual assault" between December 2012 and August 2015. Uber later claimed those reports were “significantly overstated” and said they had fewer than 170 claims of sexual assault during that time period.

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Regardless, even one sexual assault is too many. That’s why one former Uber driver and his wife are launching Chariot for Women, an Uber-like service that will hire only female drivers. The company will only drive women, with the exception of moms with boys under the age of 13.

“Having thousands of passengers in my backseat, I heard stories about unsafe travel and Uber drivers hitting on women and just a lot of unsafe issues,” Chariot for Women co-founder Michael Pelletz told ABC News.

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The company plans to increase safety by requiring both passenger and driver to say a unique password before the ride begins (so women don't accidentally accept rides from strangers), and says it also hopes that catering exclusively to women will protect its drivers as well.

Though Chariot for Women originally planned to launch in Boston later this month, that's been postponed until the company can find more female drivers, Fortune reports. This isn’t the first female-exclusive car service out there, either: SheTaxis launched in New York City in 2014 but says they had to shut down because they couldn’t meet the demand. They also faced accusations of discrimination from men who wanted a ride (they plan to relaunch under the name SheHails).

While we applaud the inventiveness of this idea, we're a little wary of anything that puts the onus on women to prevent sexual assault. Women should be able to take any cabs, subways, or buses they want, and their safety should be guaranteed.

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